When Kerala faces economic crisis, State Chief Minister and ministers are heading for foreign trips. For public consumption, trips are planned to study the economic, educational, tourism and industrial developments there. Results of all foreign tours during the earlier Pinarayi government’s tenure were a big zero. Those trips yielded neither foreign investments nor helped to implement their development models. These tours are planned spending huge sums of money with scant regard to the state’s financial mess.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, ministers V. Sivankutty, R. Bindu, P.A. Muhammed Riyas, K.N. Balagopal, P. Rajeev and V.N. Vasavan are planning for the tour Britain, Finland, Norway and Paris. Minister Roshi Augustine is now in America.
Pinarayi Vijayan, Bindu and Sivankutty will visit Finland in October, seeking cooperation in various fields, including education. Chief Secretary V.P. Joy and high officials in educational field are accompanying the team. It is explained that the tour is in response to an invitation from the Finland representatives when they visited the state. The team will visit Nokia manufacturing unit and later Norway. The Chief Minister and his team is flying to learn educational policy changes in Kerala when the Centre is implementing new national education policy.
K.N. Balagopal and P. Rajeev are heading to Britain to learn economic systems and industrial models. The Chief Minister and Chief Secretary after their Finland and Norway will reach Britain.
Minister Muhammad Riyas, tourism secretary and director are heading to Paris on September 19 to attend French tourism festival from September 20 to 24.
Minister V.N. Vasavan is touring Bahrain in this month end.
Chief Minister had visited United Arab Emirates, United States, Netherlands, Switzerland, France, Briain, Japan and South Korea during his last tenure. The purpose was to better agriculture, flood control, industry, police set up, solid waste management and economic planning. Big announcements were made, but the state had not benefitted, except that it has emptied the state exchequer.
